Rock's Winter
by Reziimthestrangeone
Summary: Lost and confused with his emotions Rock wants to end his life. Then a girl shows up... please r/r


Notice: This story used to be entitled "Sing me to Heaven: a Metropolis songfic" but I changed the name due to personal reasons. Besides, the new name goes better with the sequel: "Rock's Summer".  
In My Hearts Sequestered Chambers Lie Truths Stripped of Poets Gloss Words Alone are Vain and Vacant And my Heart is Mute...  
  
Rock didn't flinch as Duke Red's fist flew toward his face. The force of the blow knocked Rock off of his feet. He landed hard but didn't make a noise. "You fool!" Duke Red roared at the boy he had knocked to the ground, "Have you become so incapable of handling a gun that you can't even control the robots any more?! If your performance doesn't improve you will no longer be a member of The Malduks. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes father." came the unwavering reply. "You idiot I'm not your father. I found you as an orphan after the war." "Yes sir." The Duke walked away leaving Rock sitting there. Rock stood, put on his sun-glasses and walked away like nothing had happened.  
  
An hour later found him sitting in a secluded spot thinking. I have no family. I have no worth. But most of all I have no love. He fought the tears that were threatening to flood from his ice blue eyes. I must show no emotion, he reprimanded himself. Nobody would care if I died. The dam broke.  
  
In Response to Aching silence Memory Summons Half-Heard Voices And my Soul Finds Primal Eloquence And Wraps me in Song Wraps me in Song  
  
He took off his sun-glasses and looked down at his gun through bleary eyes. He had brought it halfway to his head when some one came walking down the alley singing softly to herself. The song sounded familiar somehow. Like a memory long past. Suddenly he remembered sitting in a warm lap being sung to sleep. It was a pleasant memory but it ended quickly.  
  
It left him puzzled. The memory had had to have come from before living with Duke Red, but that part of his life was all a blur. His memories of Duke Red were all pain, discipline, and training so the memory had to have come from before. He heard some one clear her throat and looked up. "Hello," she said, "I'm lost and was wondering if you could... um..." she eyed his gun and he quickly put it away."I was wondering if you could help me find my way back.  
  
She looked at him closer and saw that his face was tearstained. He had started to nod his head but before he could say anything she stepped closer and asked softly, "What's wrong?"  
  
Taken aback he gazed up into her wondering face, then it hit him, she was kind of pretty and a little younger than him and she was lost and she had asked him of all people him to take her back. He shook his head to clear it. "Nothing," he replied "Nothing at all." "I don't believe you." She sat down beside him. By the way my name is Winter." He could see why she had been named so, her silvery hair had a bluish sheen that gave it the look of freshly fallen snow and her skin was a pale color and went very well with her hair. Her eyes were as blue as his own only they looked hard somehow and didn't match the rest of her soft gentleness.  
  
"I'm Rock and I will make you a deal. If you sing that song again then I will take you back." He looked over at her. She smiled and stated singing. Memories came flooding back. Happy times with his family before the war. By the time Winter finished singing he had fallen asleep with a smile on his face. She shrugged leaned against him and fell asleep herself.  
  
If You Could Comfort Me Sing Me a Lullaby If You Could Win My Heart Sing Me a Love Song If You Could Mourn Me and Bring Me to God Sing Me a Requiem Sing Me to Heaven  
  
When Rock awoke and found Winter leaning against him it took a minute to remember what had happened the night before. His first thought was of taking her back but eventually as he waited for her to wake up his thoughts wandered to going home himself. He dreaded it for it would mean a punishment for not being home the night before to do his duties of protecting his father.  
  
When winter finally woke she looked at Rock and said "Shall we go?" By the time they got to the spot she claimed she had been staying she looked ready to burst into tears. When Rock saw this he had to inquire about it. She gave him that wondering gaze that made chills run up and down his spine. He shuddered. "Well I came here with a group of ambassadors but yesterday . . ." her voice quavered but then steadied, "Well . . . as I was talking to a member of this group called the Malduks" Rocks hand went instinctively to his armband "they left me and when I went to find them wandered and found you. And now I think they have left me because the transports we brought are gone."  
  
On the last word she started crying. Rock tried to comfort her but didn't know how so he started singing softly. It had worked for him it should work for her. He had a wonderful Tenor voice and soon she had been calmed. "You sing wonderfully." she said breathlessly. "Thank you, but I'm nothing compared to yourself." She blushed. "And by the way I think my father might find a suitable place for you to sleep till we find you a way home." She smiled and leaned against him. "Thank you."  
  
When Rock had led her to the Duke's mansion she paused outside in awe. Rock continued on pulling her behind him. He led her through the house to doors where two men were standing to open and close them. As one of them pushed the door slightly open for Rock he whispered in his ear as he walked past. Winter heard the tail end of the word trouble. Rock signaled Winter to wait outside the door as he walked into the room.  
  
"Father it' Rock." "Damn it Rock how many times do I have to tell you I'm not your father." Duke Red backhanded Rock as he turned around. Rock didn't flinch. "Where were you last night?" Duke Red grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the floor. "I was helping a friend." The Duke threw him down then raised his hand to hit him again. "That's not an acceptable answer!" Winter had seen enough. "Stop!" She ran into the room and threw herself in- between The Duke and rock. "I'm sorry sir but he was helping me." Rock looked at her thankfully and said, "This is Winter and she needs a place to stay for a while. She was left behind by her ambassador group." "Well we'll have to find a room for her then. You, on the right, show her to her room." The Duke ordered. The man who had whispered to Rock stepped forward and bowed, then led her out of the room. Winter was reluctant in leaving, but when the door to the room closed behind them the man said, "Don't worry, after what you did, The Duke won't try anything, at least for the rest of the night that is. By the way thank you. Rock shall be in later I presume." "Okay thanks." Then the man left her alone in the room. The room was rather large and made her feel uncomfortable. She walked over to the bed. It was large enough that she could lay in any direction and have room to spare. She walked over to the closet and looked inside. It was full of young girl's clothes. The Duke must have had a daughter at one time.  
  
There was a knock on the door. She shut the closet and went to open the door. It was Rock. "I came to tell you goodnight." "Well, Okay, goodnight" Rock walked out of the room and closed the door behind him smiling.  
  
Touch Me in All Love and Passion Pain and Pleasure  
  
Winter awoke before dawn. It had been one of her dreams. She had dreamt that Rock would be full of pain because of her. She had good reason to be worried, because sometimes she would, cloudily, dream of the future. She didn't have much time to brood because there was a knock on the door and rock walked in.  
  
"Today, Winter, you will see Metropolis from above. The transport taking us up leaves in half an hour." Perhaps maybe you could leave the room then so I can get dressed." Rock blushed and left the room closing the door behind him. She quickly got dressed and followed. Rock was waiting for her outside of the room. He smiled and led her out of the house, through several twisted streets, then right to Duke Red's personal airport where a transport was waiting to take them up. They climbed on the transport and waited for it to take off.  
  
Seeing the sun rise above Metropolis was one of the greatest things Winter had ever seen. After the sunrise rock decide to take Winter on a tour of Metropolis. She once mentioned going down to the lower levels but Rock refused to take her there. They had a wonderful day but, little did they know, that as the day ended so would their happiness.  
  
When they got back to The Duke's mansion Winter went into her room to lay aside the rose that rock had given her earlier. When she went to open the door it wouldn't budge. She yelled in frustration. Some one had locked her in the room. She guessed it was so she couldn't interfere with Rock's punishment for having disappeared all day. She sat sobbing with her back against the door, praying that the duke wouldn't kill Rock.  
  
Rock staggered back from Duke Red's punch, trying desperately to stay on his feet. He couldn't. The duke let him lay on the floor for a minute while he ranted. "Get up!" The dukes shout was accompanied by a foot kicked viciously into Rocks ribs. *Crack* Rock's breath was knocked out of him as the ribs broke. He tried to stand but couldn't make it onto his feet. The Duke jerked him up by his arm and then twisted it harshly behind his back.  
  
"What did I tell you would happen if you didn't perform your duties to satisfaction, boy?" Rock didn't answer for fear of crying out. He was in pain! The twisting of his arm was pulling on his broken ribs and the twisting itself was getting tighter every moment. Pretty soon his shoulder would dislocate. When rock didn't answer his arm was jerked viciously. Rock bit his lip and the salty taste of blood filled his mouth. His eyes were starting to water and his vision was getting black around the edges. At his silence The Duke gave one final savage twisting jerk on his arm. There was a hollow pop as Rock's arm came out of its socket. Rock cried out and then lost consciousness.  
  
Touch Me in All Grief and Comfort Love and Passion Pain and Pleasure  
  
Rock was in his room getting dressed as best as he could with one arm. One of the attendants has put his other arm back in place but it still hung limply at his side. He was still pretty stiff even after his hot bath and he would have to be careful of his broken ribs until they healed. Rock started to sigh but then stopped at the sharp pain in his side. He then put on his sunglasses to help conceal his black-eye.  
  
As Rock stepped into the hall he heard a pounding coming from Winter's bedroom door. He had to unlock the door but he got it open. She stared at him in amazement. "I don't know where you are going but I'm coming with you Rock, you know you can't stop me." She started put her arms around him in a hug but stopped when he started to flinch away. She set her hand on his arm and looked at him questioningly when he, again, started to flinch away. "Your ribs are broken and you can't move your arm either, can you?" It wasn't really a question but a statement. She massaged his arm in a few places and the feeling started to come back. "Those ribs have to be bound." She said looking at him seriously. She drew him into the bathroom and had him remove his shirt.  
  
"No way in hell I can stop you from going huh?" He asked as she was binding his ribs. "Nope. There all done. You're going to still have to be careful for a while though." She said as she finished rapping and secured the end of the material. "Well come on then." They left the mansion and headed toward the block to Zone1. In the zone they met up with a group of Malduks. Rock had been exchanging new with the group when another man wearing a Malduk man ran up out of breath. "Group.. Robots.. Malfunctioning.. Follow.." He managed to pant before taking off running again.  
  
A gun was shoved into Winter's hand as she followed the rest of the group. When they arrived a group of about twelve robots were destroying everything in their path. The Malduks spread out and Winter pushed to the front of them advancing on the robots with the others. She had just brought down her second robot when a sharp pain exploded in her shoulder and warm sticky fluid started running down her back. Some one's bullet had missed the robots and hit her instead. Being in the front of the group she had no idea whether it had been intentional or an accident. The last robot was brought down in a matter of seconds.  
  
Winter tried to act like nothing had happened and celebrate with everyone else but she couldn't ignore the fact that she was starting to feel woozy from pain and lack of blood. She tried to find a place to sit down but her legs gave out from underneath her and she fell down to the pavement with a red puddle spreading out around her. Rock saw her go down and was there in an instant. He saw the blood flowing around her, framing her pale body with red. "Winter! Winter! Are you okay?!" She looked up at him. A circle had formed around them but they were oblivious to everything but each other. She smiled and said, "Shh... It's okay.." Then she started to sing..  
  
"Sing me a Lullaby a Love Song, a Requiem Love Me, Comfort Me Bring Me to God Sing Me a Love Song Sing Me to heaven...."  
  
As the last word died she went with it. Rock's tears rolled down his cheeks. "Winter I love you." Then he started singing his goodbye.  
  
The End The poem/song "Sing me to Heaven" is copyright 1991 by Dunstan House. Used by permission. 


End file.
